Week 7 was a tough one for elite quarterbacks.
Ohio State’s Julian Sayin might be out for the season. Indiana’s Josh Hoover might be banged up, too. Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor was held out due to injury and is questionable in Week 8. Georgia’s Gunner Stockton took a hard hit early in the game against Auburn and ended up turning the ball over 3 times in a stunning loss. Keelon Russell and CJ Carr both suffered high-profile defeats, too.
After a whirlwind week, let’s update the ranking of the top 7 quarterbacks in the nation:
1. Darian Mensah, Miami (Last week: 1)
Miami nearly lost to rival Florida State this past week, but Darian Mensah still had a very productive game. He completed 23-of-34 passes for 326 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His 15% CPOE on the season is easily the best mark of any quarterback in the country entering Week 8.
2. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (Last week: 6)
Trinidad Chambliss moves up 4 spots this week almost by default — every QB above him (besides Mensah) in last week’s rankings either lost or suffered an injury or both. Chambliss almost never takes sacks or throws bad interceptions, which helps elevate a profile that features a 5.7% CPOE and an ADOT of just over 9 yards.
3. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (Last week: 3)
CJ Carr slips a spot this week with Notre Dame losing to BYU. Carr was poor against the Cougars (261 yards on 49 attempts) but had the Fighting Irish within striking distance of a game-winning touchdown in the game’s final seconds before a controversial finish. Carr was at least pushing the ball downfield (31% deep-throw rate) but completed very few of his most ambitious attempts (-24% CPOE on deep passes). Carr will need to be better against Miami in a couple of weeks.
4. Gunner Stockton, Georgia (Last week: 3)
In a normal week, Gunner Stockton probably would have dropped further after turning it over 3 times against Auburn. This week, with Sayin and Russell falling entirely out of the top 7, he only falls 1 spot. Stockton is still running a CPOE north of 10% and is one of the least-wasteful quarterbacks in the country (40% dead-end play rate).
5. Jayden Maiava, USC (Last week: Not Ranked)
Jayden Maiava fell out of these rankings a few weeks ago but he’s back after back-to-back wins for the Trojans. Maiava is enjoying a very productive season (9 yards per attempt and 6-to-1 TD to INT ratio) and the advanced numbers largely back up the surface stats. He has a CPOE of about 7% and has rarely made negative plays.
6. Josh Hoover, Indiana (Last week: 7)
Josh Hoover didn’t have the best game against Ohio State, but it didn’t grade out as terrible either. A -3% CPOE isn’t ideal but Hoover was close to making some really big throws — including a potential game-winner if Nick Marsh’s footwork had been better on IU’s last play from the scrimmage. For the season, he has a CPOE over 7% with an ADOT north of 11. He also doesn’t take sacks or turn the ball over and has a 60% rushing success rate. It’s an interesting profile if he can be more accurate in high-leverage spots moving forward.
7. Noah Fifita, Arizona (Last week: Not Ranked)
This is Noah Fifita’s first appearance in these rankings this year. Fifita has been quietly exceptional this year for an Arizona team that’s 5-1 on the season. Fifita has close to a 12% CPOE, which is elite — Mensah is the only qualified P4 quarterback with a better mark through 7 weeks. Fifita takes too many sacks (7.3% sack rate) but has an excellent 63% rushing success rate on carries.
On the radar
In no particular order:
Julian Sayin, Ohio State: Sayin falls out of the rankings this week entirely due to his injury. Reports suggest he may be out for the year. He probably would have been No. 2 for me this week if he was healthy.
Keelon Russell, Alabama: Russell has put together 2 really bad games in a row. Against Tennessee, his deep-ball CPOE was -32%. That’s a big problem because Russell has relied heavily on his deep passing accuracy to this point in the year. He’s also still taking way too many sacks (9.4% sack rate against the Vols).
Aidan Chiles, Northwestern: Honestly, Aidan Chiles has a statistical profile that deserves to be ranked this week. His CPOE is north of 9%. Two things hold me back from going all in — he has a long track record of mediocrity at the college level and his sack rate is an abysmal 8%.
Subscribe to the Saturday Football Newsletter — Get the latest news and updates on your team, your conference, and the college football nation straight to your inbox.
Having trouble seeing the signup form? Some privacy or ad-blocking tools can prevent it from loading. You can subscribe directly here.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
